As Winter comes to an end, and spring fast approaches, we turn our efforts to preparing for the coming raiding season. The time for raids, war and battle are fast approaching! 

Come enjoy summer’s end in the Northern Reaches in the Barony of Saint Florian de la Riviere with a Tournament of matched weapons and a picnic in the park.

In honour of the coincidentally temporally co-located birthdays of Mistress Katherina Weyssin and Master William de Cameron, the Barony of Ildhafn presents an evening of dancing and board/card-games, with light refreshments provided, and a potluck supper.

The Estrella War event team has published the February Estrella War Digest, with important information enclosed such as a BoD Town Hall and your final pre-reg reminder.

Northern Oaken Regional Academy of Defense, Defcon III, March 3, 2012. Hosted by the Marche of Thistle with the assistance of the Blades of Brendoken.

Darton Anniversary event. A weekend of Italian cuisine courtesy of Master Stefano da Urbino. Friday night a tavern, Saturday Darton Champion Tourney, Rapier Tourney and Archery, at night a masked ball. Sunday a market and A&S display.

Atlantia's Winter University is a wonderful place to learn new things to teach what you know. Come and enjoy good companionship.

Arts & Sciences Activities:  There will be classes on many topics.

Cost: 

Winged Hills will be holding a Collegium 24 & 25 March 2012 at Wright State University in Dayton, OH. We have a wonderful facility available for classes in the Student Union. Now all we need is you to teach!

Canton der Welfengau will sponsor the Mega Practice on February 26, 2012 in conjunction with the University of Guelph Medieval & Renaissance Society. SCA and university waiver policies will be in effect.

Archaeological excavation at the future site for the Academy of the Arts in Tallinn, Estonian has produced several boxes of artifacts dating to the Middle Ages. Among objects found were bone jewelry, dice, and a piece from a board game.

The Gulf Coast Renaissance Faire March 3-4, 2012 At the Pensacola Interstate Fairgrounds

It is time to prepare for Festival on the Green (FOG). I've been tasked again to serve as liaison between UWF and the SCA. For those of you who are unfamiliar with FOG, it's a Fine Arts Festival at University of West Florida in Pensacola, FL. It is on Friday and Saturday, March 30 & 31, 2012.

The shire of Meadowmarsh is hosting a boot camp at the weekend of the 16th – 18th March 2012. The site opens Friday night at 18.00 and closes Sunday at 12:00.

Mistress Kathryn Goodwyn has opened a website for her period modelbook collection, "Flowers of the Needle."

A reporter with the Standard Freeholder paid a visit to the Canton of Harrowgate Heath in Eastern Ontario. The article showcases many SCA activities including fighting, heraldry, and scribal arts.

International teams come together for grand European melee battle at Battle of the Nations. Now a television series covers the action. Episodes are on YouTube.

Adam Stedefast, Blue Iris Herald for the Kingdom of the Outlands, reports that THL Li Hsiao Lung (Li Guang Ming) has been offered admittance into the Order of Chivalry by Their Royal Majesties Kynan and Gilliana January 21, 2012 at Winter Wolf held at the College of Blaiddwyn.

Kara, Queen of the West, has announced that She and her Lord King Uther have offered elevation to the Order of the Laurel to Their subject Cynehild Cynesigesdohtor. The announcement was made at the January West Kingdom Coronation.

Experts from the Swedish Maritime Museum are thrilled by the discovery of five shipwrecks dating to the 16th through 18th centuries, found during a quay renovation in central Stockholm. The ships, some measuring 20 meters (66 feet), are in good condition.

New rules, approved by the International Botanical Congress in July, will no longer require Latin descriptions of new species for publication in online academic journals and books. The change will be implemented to "speed up the process of officially recognizing new plant species."

Several years ago, the Friends of Thynghowe, an amateur history group, was instrumental in discovering a Viking Thing in England's Sherwood Forest. Now the group has received a grant to search a wider area.

The SCA Inc. has released an errata sheet, available for free download, for the fourth edition of the Known World Handbook.

A building being used as a cow shed in Wales may date to the 1300s, making it the oldest domestic building in Wales. The date is being determined by studying the tree rings in the roof rafters.

The British Library nixes the “requirement” that white gloves are necessary in order to handle historical manuscripts, saying that it is “in fact a modern phenomenon, and one that has little scientific basis.” Gloves can actually be a detriment to manuscripts, they claim.

Victorian excavations at the site of the Chedworth Roman Villa in Gloucestershire, England led to some surprises, including a 35m (115ft) long Roman mosaic floor, "one of the longest in-situ corridor mosaics in the country." Soon the mosaic will be displayed for the public. (photo)

Lord Miklos Farma, Anser Pursuivant to the Barony of the Lonely Tower in the Kingdom of Calontir, reports that Iarlles Branwen ferch Rhael has been elevated to the Order of the Pelican by Their Majesties Ostwald and Kaye.

On her Rural Revolution blog, merchant Patrice Lewis discusses  - and shares photos from - her recent attendance at An Tir 12th Night in Coeur d'Alene, ID. Patrice and husband Don sold handmade tankards from a "pushcart."

Caylie Sadin, a reporter for NewCity, "Chicago’s only locally owned and operated cultural weekly," recently spent a day at Twelfth Night, an SA event in the Middle Kingdom. Her observations and interviews with SCA members are recorded in a January 27, 2012 article.

The Kildeen Daily Herald visited members of the Stronghold of Hellsgate as they displayed their fighting skills, armor, and other aspects of the SCA.

Why was Henry VIII’s face replaced in the painting “Field of the Cloth of Gold”?  The facial image of him on horseback is not the original, and theories abound as to why he was “decapitated”.